Michael or Yhwh? Toward Identifying Melchizedek in 11Q13
Scholars are still divided over the identity of the figure Melchizedek in 11Q13. Is he an angel, or is ‘Melchizedek’ simply another title for Yhwh? This article argues that these two opposing views can be reconciled by seeing the figure Melchizedek as an expression of what the early rabbis called be...
| Published in: | Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2006
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2006, Volume: 16, Issue: 1, Pages: 75-86 |
| Further subjects: | B
Temple
B Jeremiah B Assassination B MT B Gedaliah B Tisha B’Av B Edomites B LXX |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | Scholars are still divided over the identity of the figure Melchizedek in 11Q13. Is he an angel, or is ‘Melchizedek’ simply another title for Yhwh? This article argues that these two opposing views can be reconciled by seeing the figure Melchizedek as an expression of what the early rabbis called belief in ‘two Powers in heaven’. The way he is portrayed in 11QMelch is comparable to Philo’s concept of the divine MPHPK and the belief of the ‘Magharians’. While there are clear indications in 11Q13 that Melchizedek is an intermediary, there are equally compelling arguments that he is Yhwh. The author of 11Q13 uses a collage of biblical texts to present him as a divine intermediary. The fact that a number of biblical messianic titles are conflated in the person of Melchizedek encourages seeing other Qumran descriptions of exalted figures as referring to him as well. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5286 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0951820706069186 |